Crimes in the Long Grass
by Mr. Chaos
Summary: Det. Kate Beckett is a homicide detective trying to prove herself in Kanto. When a serial killer begins dressing victims up as Pokemon, just as the killer did in Richard Castle's beloved Pokeranger Books starring Derek Storm, the detective joins forces with the writer to uncover to catch the killer.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Alright, this might just turn into a trainwreck kids. Don't ask me where the idea came to mix these two together. Hopefully it will get a strong reaction... if not, then I will just chalk it up to a failed experiment.

A few notes: 1) This takes place 15 years after the events of Pokemon as we know it. 2) It will bore from the anime and the games. 3) While the cases will have similar starting points, they WILL be different, so you don't have to worry about this just being me inserting oddishes into Castle stories.

* * *

Celadon City- 6:50 pm

Det. Kate Beckett slipped under the caution tape and made her way into the Celadon Gym. Several officers gave her perplexed looks and she instantly pegged them for local. She didn't bother to give them a second thought, as her mind, as it always was when she was called to a scene, was preparing herself for the sight that waited for her within.

"Get ready," Det. Javier Esposito said, moving to join her as they made their way through the Gym. Flowers and trees were all over the place, making the entire enclosed structure feel more like a green house than a Gym. He could already feel his nose itching from all the pollen.

"Why? The Gym Leader complaining?"

"No, actually. For once one of them is letting us do our job." He motioned her to follow him to the main battling grounds, the walkway going from the normal hardpacked rubber asphalt to natural dark soil that, if Beckett had to guess, was filled with all sorts of natural vitamins and nutrients to help the plants grow big and strong. Beckett rolled her eyes, knowing that with the money it cost to import the dirt the Gym could have fed several families for a year.

"Then what is the problem?" Beckett asked, flashing her badge at two officers who had taken their stations near the door that led into the Gym Leader's private entrance.

"It's a weird one," Esposito said.

Beckett took in the scene before her and admitted that Esposito was not exaggerating: this was a weird one alright.

Several of the local officers had set up lights, having been unable to figure out the gym's complex lighting system; their damp shirts showed that they had accidentally turned on the overhead sprinklers before giving up on attempts to light the place up. The towers, with their bare bulbs, shown down on the body of what, at first glance, appeared to be a Pokemon. Large green leaves encircled her waist, her skin a pale green and two large red flowers topping her head. It was only as Beckett got closer that she saw this was not a Pokemon but a 20 year old woman. She had been stripped of all her clothing and left in the middle of the training room like some sort of museum piece.

"Never seen anything like this," Esposito muttered.

"Except for those websites you go to when no one is looking?" Esposito sputtered at Beckett's dig and the female detective smirked. "Who found her?" Beckett asked, kneeling down and slipping on a pair of latex gloves.

Regaining his composure, Esposito pulled out his notes. "One of the Jr. Trainers found her. Erika Sloane, the gym leader, asked her to go back and get something for her...found the girl like this."

"Any cameras?"

"None. Gym believes in keeping things natural. When they need to record battles they have one of Ms. Sloane's girls get a handheld."

"Wonderful," Beckett muttered to herself. "I've seen this before."

"Everyone's seen it. It's a Bellossom...or a woman dressed up like a Bellossom."

"No, not that..." Beckett closed her eyes, digging deep into her memories in an attempt to try and remember where she had seen a crime scene like this before.

"Man, you see some of the girls that work here?" Detective Kevin Ryan asked as he entered the room, his Eevee perched, as always, on his shoulder.

"Some hot mamas, alright," Esposito said with a wolfish grin. He looked over at the Eevee and then back at to his partner and friend. "I thought you said you were going to finally evolve that thing into a Jolteon."

"I was...but when we got to the shopping center she got all fussy..."

Esposito waved his friend off. "You treat that thing like it's a baby."

"Stop calling her a thing...you're going to hurt her feelings."

"Guys?" Beckett said, giving them both a glare that shut them up. "Dead woman...kinda more important than elemental stones."

"Right," Ryan said, scratching Eevee under her chin. "I just got done talking with Erika and her trainers...none of them were able to identify the girl."

"So she didn't work here," Beckett said, filing that away for later. "So someone took the time to sneak in here, lay her out and make her out to look like a Pokemon, then sneak away..."

"Seems like a lot of work," Ryan said.

"Warned you this was a weird one," Esposito said.

"Don't sound so disappointed, Javi," Beckett teased.

Esposito scoffed. "Hate the weird ones. Give me a normal homicide any day."

"Jack shot Jill, open and shut," Ryan added.

"But the weird ones need more...make you work for it...much better than a quick jump in the sack normal crimes become." Beckett's eyes were alit with humor as she spoke.

Ryan glanced over at two of the locals that were milling near the door, staring at Beckett like she was a Mew. "What's up with them?"

"Never seen a cop who wasn't named Jenny," Beckett said. Ryan was new to the force, having moved to Kanto only a year ago and he was still getting use to some of their quirks, including the fact that it was rare for a female police officer to not be named Jenny or be part of the same family. Beckett had long gotten used to the shocked looks she received when she walked onto a scene. Hell, she even welcomed it, taking it as a badge of honor that she had managed to make it up the ranks to lead homicide detective of Kanto. Let the blue-haired women do what they wanted…Beckett would continue to show them all.

Plus...it was nice to have the officers look at her like that and not-

"Flowers on Her Grave."

"Huh?" Ryan and Esposito said.

"Flowers on Her Grave..." When neither of them followed what she was saying, Beckett gave them an exasperated look. "What, neither of you read?"


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: If you have any suggestions for characters' Pokemon, what cities they live in, any inside nods I should do or cases you would like me to play with, please let me know via a review. Please also note that I want this story to treat the cases much like SHERLOCK does: They have cues from the originals but are their own tales with their own solutions.

Cylon- Alot of fun with this is taking things that were established and twisting them on their head. You'll slowly see that come about in the next few chapters and as the story moves on and more cases (hopefully) are solved, these characters and their new backstories will be revealed

emholland1- You aren't the only one that wasn't for sure about this, but it has gotten just enough reviews to justify another chapter, to see if there is demand for more.

someguyshere- Other characters' pokemon will be revealed shortly!

* * *

Saffron City- 7:00 pm

"Murder...mystery...the macabre. What is it about a dark alley, the sound of a bullet and the willies of a femme fatale that get our hearts racing? There is one man today who manages to take all we love and fear and encapsulate it and concentrate it. And now, with Storm Fall, the final novel in his PokeRanger series starring Derek Storm, he leaves all wondering just how he does it. Ladies and Gentlemen...Richard Castle!"

Castle smirked as he waved to the crowd, shaking hands and accepting paper from beautiful fans who wanted his signature. Several of them presented Pokeballs for him to sign...and some of them presented breasts just a firm and perky as Pokeballs for him to scrawl his signature upon.

Who was he to refuse his fans?

This continued on for 20 minutes before the crowds died down enough for Castle to make his way towards one of the waiters, wanting to snag a drink. His progress was halted, however, by way of a woman that could make Moltres' fires freeze: His ex-wife and publisher, Gina.

"Hey, Gina!" Castle said, giving her his best winning smile.

"Where is my manuscript, Richard?"

"What, no foreplay?" he asked innocently.

"Richard..."

"You can't rush greatness, Gina, you know that."

His ex-wife rolled her eyes. "It's been 3 weeks, Richard. i can only hold my bosses off for so long...they are already angry about Storm Fall."

"Come on, it is going to sell huge!'

"Of course, which is why they want more Derek Storm books. You know, send him to different regions, solve mysteries, seduce beautiful women, catch rare Pokemon? But no, you had to go and blow him up! You killed the Shiny Vulpix."

Castle couldn't help but grin at her distress. "Yeah, death by Voltorb...big crater, very messy." At her withering stare he held up his hands in mercy. "Come on! You know Derek Storm wasn't the Shiny Vulpix. I am."

"Is that why you haven't written a word in months? From what I hear, you have writer's block."

Castle did his best to hide his frown. "Gina, do not worry...I will get the manuscript to you asap!"

"I want 3 chapters by next week, Richard, or I am taking back your advance."

"You can't take it back!" Castle called out as she walked away. "I spent it divorcing you!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"Come on...it's really yummy...come on Rachel...

The Ralts known as Rachel turned her head, refusing to take a bite of the pokefood Alexis Castle was trying to feed her. The redhead sighed, making a note in her notebook about the recipe and the reaction.

"Darling, leave the poor thing alone and have some fun!" Martha Rogers said, coming to stand next to her granddaughter. It was clear Martha was already 3 martinis deep.

"She isn't eating anything, Gram. It's making me worried."

"Well, I'm worried you are too focused on her and not on yourself. Come on, live a little!" Martha took another swig from her champagne flute (having decided to switch it up) savoring the taste as she sat next to Alexis, waving the psychic pokemon that sat on the bar away from her. "I don't understand why you are trying to train that…thing. Andy is so well behaved!"

Alexis sighed. Andy was a Kadabra she had been raising since she was 8. Her father had bought her an Abra for her birthday and Alexis had delighted in training the psychic Pokemon, teaching it new moves and how to be in perfect sync with her. Her and Andy had bonded immediately, the psy-pokemon's legendary aloof behavior never appearing when Alexis was around.

Ralts, on the other hand, was a stubborn, picky little Pokemon.

"It's not her fault, Grams. You know traded Pokemon are like this!" Alexis had traded a Skitty she had won 6 months back with her friend Paige, the girl always complaining that she couldn't get Rachel to behave. Alexis had been more than happy to give it a try, figuring that she would be able to get Rachel conditioned in no time. She'd envisioned having two psychic pokemon working together with her…that would be a feather in her cap and look really good on her college applications. It was rare for a trainer to be able to form a bond with two psychic pokemon, but those who did were viewed as being prized prospects for colleges. And that was assuming she went the college route...she could get a position with a Gym leader with that kind of achievement, or perhaps work with the Pokerangers...

Of course, none of that would happen if Rachel continued to refuse anything the 16 year old tried to feed her.

"Mother, may I speak with you," Castle said, approaching the two women in his life.

"Richard, darling, I am afraid Gina doesn't have much confidence in you. She is only serving the cheap stuff." Martha waved her glass about.

"Maybe because someone has been telling her things, private things, that make her not confident in me."

Martha shrugged, snagging another flute of champagne. "Kiddo, I have no idea what you mean. I merely mentioned that you had been spending your days in your underwear waiting for the standings in the Fuchsia Rapidash Races."

"And you didn't think that might make her a bit worried?"

"You're an artist, darling, like me! We are expected to behave differently than the normals. Not my fault Gina took that the wrong way." Martha held up a hand when Castle tried to say something. "Hold up…no wedding ring on the gentlemen with the blue tie. Don't wait up kids, mama's goin' fishin'!"

"Hopefully this one isn't another Magicarp." Castle rolled his eyes, taking a seat next to Alexis. "You should have me committed." He reached out to pet Rachel, who merely turned her head and shuffled away from him. "Still can't get her to eat?"

"Yeah…I'm getting worried, dad."

"Maybe you should spice it up…I know some parents put a dab of vodka in baby bottles to get them to settle down."

Alexis' face puckered like she'd bit into a bad lemon. "Who would ever think that was a good idea?" Castle was thankful she didn't notice his 'not-so-innocent' look.

"Well, I think it's great you are trying this."

Alexis, however, wasn't feeling that great at all. "I just feel like I am letting her down. I thought it would be just like Andy..."

"Well, sometimes it's good for things not to go your way. You need challenges in life in order to grow." Castle accepting a new glass of champagne from the bartender and took a sip. "Do you know why I killed Derek Storm?" He leaned in close, like he was sharing some national secret. "Because it was predictable. I didn't need to think when I was writing him...the words just flowed out onto the page like that."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Alexis questioned.

"At first, yeah. But soon I realized there was no adventure, no excitement. I write not because of the money or the fame-"

"Though that is nice," Alexis interjected.

"-but because I like it. It is entertaining. When I am writing the right way, it feels like I am watching a play being performed right in front of me. i might think the story is going one way and all of a sudden I will realize that the character is taking me in a new direction.

"But with Derek...there were no surprises. Even the sudden changes weren't that sudden. it got predictable...stale."

"Just what a girl wants to hear her father say: he killed off his income maker because he was bored."

Castle chuckled, giving her a playful bop on the shoulder. "I just want something different." He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned, pen in hand. Duty called. "Where would you like it?"

The tapper merely stared at him through narrowed eyes, flashing her badge. "Detective Kate Beckett, KPD. I have a few questions, Mr. Castle."

"That's different," Alexis said with a smirk.


	3. Chapter 3

Indigo Plateau- 8:23 pm

Castle looked around the interogation room, surprised to find that it looked much nicer than he had expected. From all the TV shows and movies he had seen he had been expecting some dark, dank room with a leaky roof and hard wooden chair that left splinters in his rear. Instead, the room was a mix of tans and beiges, with a sturdy polished table and a chair that, while not comfortable, was also not something one would find in a torture chamber.

They had taken all his pokeballs though, which sucked. How was he suppose to have fun if he couldn't play with his pals?

He'd been teleported to the room by some Pokemon (honestly he couldn't remember...the liquor was having a nice dulling effect on his senses) and then left to sit there for a while, most likely in an attempt to crack him. He had no idea why he had been dragged here, which was a change for him. Usually he was arrested while in the middle of doing something stupid and the interrogation was just a formality.

"Mr Castle," Det Beckett said as she entered the room, a thick file in her hands, "you have quite the rap sheet for a famous author."

"Well, me and Tony Stark have a running competition..."

"Says here you stole a police Ponyta."

"Well...boys will be boys."

Beckett glanced over the file. "You were naked at the time and were heard shouting "I am Princess Celestia!"."

Castle held up his hands. "Let me explain...it is a really funny story-"

"You also stole Gym Leader of Pallet Town's hat?"

Castle let out an exasperated sigh when he heard that one. "First off, someone should tell Mr. Ketchum that people of his standing shouldn't wear baseball caps. Second, technically it was Kevin who stole the hat...you've heard of Kevin Allen, right? He and I-"

"Mr. Castle, right now I don't care if this Kevin guy stole the Pope's Hat-"

"Well..."

"-I am more interested in the fact that you've managed to have every one of these charges dropped."

Caslte leaned back in his chair, flashing his most charming smile. "Well, what can I say...the head of the Elite 4 is a fan...plus he owes me from last month's poker game-"

"What do you know about Allison Tinsdale."

"Who?" Castle asked. He tried to remember if she was someone he slept with and cursed his lack of Pokemon...it was their job to keep his dating life organized!

Beckett took out a photo from the crime scene. Once they'd managed to clean off the green paint and remove the flowers from her body, the gym leader, Erika, had been able to identify the body as one of her scouters. "Allison Tinsdale. She was found murdered a few hours ago." Beckett set the photo down for Castle to see.

"That's 'Flowers for your Grave'."

Beckett nodded. "And this is Marvin Fisk. Small claims lawyer…he was found like this two weeks ago." Beckett passed over another photo, this time of a heavy set man in the middle of some long grass which had been stomped down to resemble a skull, his body chewed on by to Rattata. "Right out of 'Hell Hath No Fury'."

Castle stared at the two photos, brow creased. "Looks like I have a die-hard fan."

"Excuse me?" Beckett said, a tad concerned that Castle had realized she was a fan.

"I wrote those before Derek Storm...only hard-core Castle groupies remember those. Why would someone base their murders on these?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Beckett said.

Castle leaned away from the pictures, a reluctant smile on his face. "Sorry, detective, but I honestly have no clue."

"Mr. Castle, it is very likely that there is someone who is using your books to base their murders upon. Any evidence-"

"Detective, if I think of anything you have my word you will be the first person I tell." He paused, glancing at the pictures. "Can I have copies of those?"

"Excuse me?"

"I have this monthly poker game...me, Allen, Brennan, Cannel, Patterson...having a copycat is like the crowning achievement for a writer-"

Beckett slammed her hands on the desk. "Two people are dead, Mr. Castle!"

"...I don't want the bodies...just the pictures."

Beckett turned her back, waving him off. "Go collect your pokeballs and get out. An officer will teleport you home."

Castle nodded, grabbing his coat. "Detective?" When Beckett turned Castle quickly wrapped an arm around her, grinning as he snapped a photo with his pokedex. "This is so going on Facebook!"

Beckett just stared at him, fire in her eyes and jaw slack as Castle walked out. "That lousy, stupid…twerp!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Richard Castle's Loft, Saffron City- 9:18 pm_

"Have a good evening, Mr. Castle, and try to stay out of trouble," the officer said, placing a hand on his Xatu.

"Will do!" Castle said, forcing a smile onto his face. "Aaahhh….jackass," he added once the man had teleported away. Taking out his keys, he unlocked his door and stepped into his home, only to be assaulted by piano music and Cerulean's greatest hits.

"I'm just a gal who can't say no!" Martha belted out as a man Castle had never met pounded away on the piano his mother had insisted on bringing with her. On top of the baby grand danced a little Smoochum, who waved her fingers happily to the beat and cooed out her own lyrics. "I'm in a terrible fix! Hey, kiddo!" She turned to her son, waving him over. "I was just showing Bernie how we did it back in the olden days."

"Of course you were. And you must be Bernie, the stranger my mother let into my house and near my daughter." Castle gave his mother a peck on the cheek.

"Come now, darling, you have no leg to stand on. I at least wasn't arrested."

"Smooch!" Martha's Smoochum added in agreement.

"Tonight, mother. You weren't arrested tonight." Castle climbed the stairs to the bedrooms, making a mental note to have that piano meet with an unfortunate accident within the next few days. Seeing Alexis' light on, he knocked on the door and entered to find his daughter studying at her desk, not even flinching when Martha began to sing again.

He tapped her on the shoulder and Alexis jumped, pulling the earplugs she had been forced to don out. "Dad!"

"Did I miss the evening show?"

"Don't worry, they've been doing encores for the last 30 minutes." Alexis closed her book and swiveled her chair so she could look at her father. "So, how was the slammer? Anyone make you their bitch?"

"Very nice and sadly no. Much better than the ones in Saffron." Castle sat down on her bed, placing a Jigglypuff doll in his lap. "Where is everyone?"

"Their Pokeballs," Alexis stated. "Houndoom was howling…"

"And that was annoying you?"

"No, it was actually helping to drown out Gram, but I was afraid he'd hurt his throat. The others I decided to recall, so they could actually get some sleep." She passed her father's his guarddog's pokeball, which Castle clipped into his ball-holder.

"Ah. Don't worry, buddy, I'll let you out by morning." Castle had gotten a Houndour when Alexis was born, training the Dark/Fire Pokemon to protect his baby girl at all costs. Now a Houndoom, the pokemon considered Alexis his own pup and would guard her with his life. It was rare for the Castles to place any of their Pokemon in their balls, which made tonight, which already had a note of the strange, all the more different than Castle was use to.

Alexis pushed away from her desk and sat down next to her father, laying her head on his shoulder. "So, what exactly made the police decide to pull you from your big night and perp walk you all the way to the Indigo Plateau?"

"Get ready…for once I wasn't in trouble. Apparently…they wanted me for a case."

"A case?" Alexis asked as Castle pulled out a pokeball.

"Apparently someone has been killing people the way I kill them in my books." The ball flashed, releasing a regal looking Slowking. "Hey buddy, can you go round up all my non-Derek Storm novels?"

_'Yes sir'_ Slowking responded in Castle's head, trotting out of the room.

Alexis frowned, taking her father's large hand in her own. "Dad, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks…it's just so senseless."

"Murder usually is."

"Nope, murder usually makes sense. Manslaughter is senseless...it's rash and without thought. People commit murder for only a few reasons: greed, love, anger…murder, true murder, is a long process, so you don't go into it lightly." Slowking returned, 8 novels floating behind him. "Thank you. Go ahead and get to bed, buddy." The Slowking nodded in thanks, psychically saying goodnight to Alexis before trotting away to the room Castle had designated as the Pokemons' dorm. "So why would a killer choose these books?"

"What do you mean?"

"Flowers For Your Grave? Hell Hath No Fury? Angry channelers out for blood? Not my greatest works. Why would a psychotic killer pick those?"

"Because he's psychotic. Now come on, it's time for bed." Alexis stood up, holding out her hands for her father to grab. "You'll figure it out in the morning."

"I'm just a gal…" Martha warbled.

Castle rolled his eyes. "Maybe I can have Andy shove his spoons in my ears, that way I can get some sleep…"


End file.
